Vehicle



Feb. 24, 1948. c. E. swx-:NsoN

VEHICLE Filed Dc. 8, 1945- "'lllli III Patented Feb. 24, 194s' :s PATENT corriere'.

i ri-,4385681 i ity-Emeric. t ;Ca1" l QE. Swenson", `Rockford; Ill., 'assignorggby \-mesne"assgnm'ents, to the vUnited States of VlgAmericmCv as represented l by the Secretary" jci? aime uNavyl i.. nppiieaiidneneeember s, iefiafseriei 15in-513,430

ffsicieimeif (ci. 1267-21) ofV the' rst two cylinders and *the torsion lmember therebetweengmay 'befplaced in the-third cylinder :and the-Hatter cylinder may becontracted by5bolts'pas'sing throughit's ilanges to i thereby contractthe "second cylinder andxcompress'the torsion member.

vIn such va "swinging and Jyielding bogiev wheel connection'comprisinglthethreeconcentric :cy1intype l having' propelling` tracks on" opposite -sides ders, itv is necessary' that the outer two cylinders be fixed togetheL-and itis an object to provide an improved'"constrncti'onffor fixing these cylinders"together.f 'l this'jjend it is an object tov provide "a keybetween. the' flanges on the open ends of theoiterrnostof` the-"cylinders andexwhich l'aresupported with=respecttothe vehicle 15 tendngintoa ysplit'in the 'outermost'ofthe two body by libogie7 Wheels sWinginglyandf-yieldingiy cylinders betweeniwhich ythejtqtirsion memberA vis connected with theyehiclei--bod-y. "It-*hasheredisposed. Itis-contemplated that the boltsipaISS- toforebeen'common practice insuchavehicle to ing' hPmigh'H j'u'l'gfi 1112i? also paSS ihlOugh mount :the individual k"vsrheels, between :pairs of the'key-and-functionfto'liold vitl inl place. cast iron supportingarms swingingly-and "yield-V 20 g "It is a {furtherbbilect'jofimyinventon to proinglyfconneeted-witlrthefvehicleb'ody-Such a vde vmeansv for 'supporting'lthe torsion member construction, however,4 was-ifoundl'to be'quite b3?i511@*Vllicle'llyA ihSUCh @manner that Said heavy-for use in anamphibien-venicle in which mmbermay516eeasilyiirwl 'quklyfmvurrtedori the weight musty be kept toia minimum in ALorder demouri'te forl repair, for 'replacenrient. To 'this that a max-imumfamountfof cargo-maybe transf- 2'5 end thema-re' provied eountebredend memported'by ihev'ehicie'r Iris-therefore en-lobject bers-secured in 'theoremv n'd's of the inner cylin- Of my invention to provide Via-"bogie V-wlfieel-"arm der and a pai-r oflthreadedfbolts or axles eacl of structure 'which is"mateiallylighter"than ythe Whic'blts ,S"flslsselhrollgh a wall-'secprior cast metal-arm 4con-struction,*and to Ythis 15`01'1 O'fY the :VhClel' 130537 'l'li then HSGTS'I end Vit -is an ebjecttoprovide-a bugie wheel arm' 30 sccued'l theffendmmbersfoftheinner 'cylinstructurewhich is dfislieet'metfl construction. der?" SlCeheIL arebly tWQ'blS refilliled'iO Individuaiibog-ie wheels in vehic1esef thistype support the trsiommember with respect to the have .heretofore Y'been fyieldinglyand; swingingly body ofthefvhicle'it ifsobvious that rapid m0111113- mountedfwith respectfftfthe vvehicle l"loodyfloy ing ordismounting f-said'lmmberjs `possi-bie. means offafrubber tersion member disposed be 35 Theiinve'ntiorrconsists of'the'inovfli constructweeniand. `'xed tofconcentricmtal cylinders; OnS, arrangemntsjnd Ydevices tobe hereinand 11H5. an. object4 0ffmy1-inven1-,i0nltoprovide f an after described and? claimed-"f or carryingout the improved construction z"for connectingl suchfan above 'Stated' bbjectsfand-sucl'iother 'Objects 91S assembly 'with `vavllogie1`A` wheelffwhieh 'is mad@ up will appear vironia the'iollowin description of a principally of` `Asheet -metalf-parts=#pressed into '40 tanlffeledmdfmenlfllutlate flhe proper #shape as iiistingiiished"v` from lmetal 'castaCCOmlJ anying fdliwilpl'giiwlrel'eil ingsfniachiiie'd to fproper L'shape',a'nrl which thus f' 'Fig. I1 :iis"afsideflevational y'View 'of 'a tracked issimple'amilf"economicaltoinalnea amphibian vehicle embodying the principles'V of The torsion member of yielding material in a. thelweltonl e e swinging'an-'d yieldingmagie:Winer-:mounting of 45 Fie-fais afsideflvtirflfriewfon 2in-enlarged this type is prefefabyrldecompreggd between scale of4 one ftheibcg'ie't-wliels f'thefvehi'cle theftwucyiindersftcwhiehitheftorsion-memberis running 0n Onefitheaicksidfhe Suspension 'xed, anditiifs afobject femyvinv'tintgpro, mechanism 'for the bogi'whel; vide an' improvedmoiinting rithi-s"typ'e'flwhich Fig-Sis Se'SeGtOlN/iwlbnfanErillgedsakl maybefeasilyfiassemldf T this-ndt is* an 50 taken' 0=1T1n-73i35 YF- 2; 7and object to' provide longitudinalfs'plits inlthe outer Fig. I 4 is.-a'sectionalfvfew'taken Online 4 -4'fof one of-ithetwocylinderslfandatliirdcylinder to Fig-'3- 7 whichetheesuppqrtingrarms forab'ogie-iwheei are' 1.`Like;-,fcharacters (ir-reference -desi'gnateiiike xed-which -is :alsot:splitiiairdieissiprovrded: with partsfiin Ltrieisevera'lflviews. angeS-f onftsfopmefendsnwherbnethefasseniblyi 55 verheft/female illustrated-ih Fieri of'thedfrawhicle for cushioning the body I from jolts duejv to bumps or sudden rises in the terrain, and an idler wheel I6 at the rear of the vehicle. wheel I2 may constitute an idler wheel, and the wheel I3 may be a sprocket for engaging with the articulated track for driving the track. The body I0 is preferably water-tight so that the vehicle may function as a boat, and the tracks 4 with a longitudinally extending split or slot 33 and anges 34 and 35 on its open ends as shown. A key 36 is disposed in the split 33 and between the flanges 34 and 35, and the key extends into the split 30 in the cylinder 28 to thereby iix the cylinders 28 and 32 against relative rotation. A spacer member 31 is provided in the split 3| in the cylinder 28 for substantially closing the split. A plurality of bolts 38 extends through appropriate openings in the flanges 34 and 35 and fkey es, and the bons function to hold the @y1- The 5 I I are preferably of such construction that they may drive the vehicle either through the Water or over land. The details of the mechanism for driving the wheels I3 von opposite sides of the vehicle and other details of the vehicle may be such as are disclosed in a similar vehicle in the co-pending application of Benjamin A. Swennes. Serial No. 508,304, hereinbefore mentioned.

Each of the bogie wheels I 4 and I5 is swingingly and yieldingly connected with the body I0 of the vehicle. The swinging and yielding suspensions i'or all of the bogie ,wheels I4 are the same, and details of the yielding suspension for one of the wheels I4 are shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawing, reference to which will now be made. The vehicle body I0 on-each side thereof comprises sheet metal wall portions I1 and I8 as shown in these figures. An inner cylinder I9 of sheet metal is pivotally supported between the Wall portions I1 and AI8 by means of an end member fitting in the cylinder-on each end thereof and xed to the cylinder, a circular plate 2| disposed in an appropriate opening in each of the wail portions I1 and I8 and fixed thereto, and a bolt 22 extending through a central opening in each of the plates 2I so as to be lournalled therein and screwed into the adjacent end member 20. Although the cylinder I9 is pivotally mounted with respect to the wall portions I1 and I8 of the body I0, it is generally held against pivotal movement and is only moved for purposes vof adjustment. The cylinder I9 is adiustably anchored fromepivotal movement with respect to the body IIJ and wall portions I1 and I8 by means of reaction arms 23 and 24 which are fixed on the ends of the cylinder. Each of the reaction arms is held against movement with respect to the adjacent wall portion by means of a screw 25 extending through an anchor member 26 fixed to the adjacent wall portion. The screws 25 are adjustable in the anchor members 26 for adjusting the positions of the reaction armsf2'3 and 24 and thereby of the cylinder I9, and each of the screws 25 is provided with a lock nut 21 for holding 4the screw 25 against undesired rotative movement. i

A second or intermediate sheet metal cylinder 28 is disposed concentrically with the cylinder I9, and a torsion member 29 of rubber is disposed between the cylinders and is i'lxed to each of the cylinders as by vulcanizing. The cylinder 28 is formed by two portions 28a and 28h which are each substantially a hali cylinder and which provide between their open ends a pair of splits or slots 39 and 3| extending longitudinally of the cylinder 28 as a whole. An outer cylinder 32 of sheet metal is disposed to t over the intermediate cylinder 28. The cylinder 32 is provided inder 32 tightly iitting on the cylinder 28 with the rubber torsion member 2'9 in compression between the vcylinders I9 and 28.

Twobogie wheel supporting arms 39 are fixed to the outer cylinder 32. Each of these arms is constructed of .sheet metal, and, although having considerable strength, the arm nevertheless is quite light in weight. Each of the arms 39 is provided with a sleeve 40 ixed therein, and a shaft 4I extends through the sleeves in each of the arms and between the arms. A bogie wheel I4 is rotatably disposed with respect to the shaft 4I and is positioned between the arms 39. The shaft 4I is iixed with respect to the arms 39 by any suitable means as by nuts 42 on the ends of the shaft.

In operation of the vehicle,v the reaction arms 23 and 24 and thereby thecylinder I9 for each of the bogie wheels I4 are held fixed with respect to theV body IIJ and wall Vportions I1 and I8 by means of a screw 25. IIehe arms 39 between which each of the wheels I4 is mounted are fixed with respect toa cylinder 32 and therebythe associated cylinder 28, and the pressure which is on the wheel I4, constituting that part of the weight of` the vehicle supported by the wheel, is taken by the rubber member 29 between the cylinders 32 and 28 which is thereby under torsional stress. The torsion Vmembers 29 ofthe individual wheels I4 yield as necessary to maintain the tracks II in contact with uneven surfaces traversed by the vehicleVas is apparent; The proportion of the. total weight of the vehicle to be taken by the individual torsion members 29 for individual wheels I4 may be adjusted by adjusting the screws 25.

The bogie wheels I5 are also yieldingly and swingingly mounted with respect to the body III. These bogie wheels preferably act, however, with less force on the tracks II than the bogie wheels I4. The suspension for each of the wheels I5 may be similar to the suspension for each of the bogie wheels I4 with the exception that a rubber torsion member 29 of less length is provided, or the suspension for a bogie wheel I5 may include a steel spring, instead of a rubber torsion member, iixed between two concentric cylinders, such as is disclosed in a cao-pending application of Benjamin A. Swennes, Serial No. 510,296, i'lled November 15, 1943; The bogie wheels IS-function, as is apparent, to absorb shocks due to bumps or high portions of terrain encountered by the vehicle.

Each of the yielding suspensions for the bogie wheels I4 may be assembled by permitting the outer cylinder 32 to be somewhat sprung open due to the inherent resiliency of the cylinder with the bolts 38 removed. With the' outer cylinder 32 in this condition, the torsion member assembly including the rubber member 29 and the cylinders I9 and 28 may be easily Amoved inside the cylinder 32. The key 36 and spacer 31 are then put in' their proper places in the slots l33 and'3l respectively, the bolts .38 are inserted .through the openings iniflthe'ilanges 34 and 35fandikey 36, andfcthe bolts-i538 YAaretightened-,to '.bringitheiianges rand kc#togethersubstantially as f shown in Figi? Thioylirderiis therebycontracted wherebythe open-*ends oirtllie-cylinder-halves '-2Ba``and 28h-Ear@ moved togetlierl to be closcl'yadjac'ent to `orfvin contact withfthefpartsfl and-Sand the rubber l member 29 isz, "compressed.n between4 :the cylinders Tl''lillustrated bogiewheelsuspension assembly- 10supporting the torsion joint by said @body-issaidf Si? is advantageously--made.upl principally of sheet metal parts which may be formed in suitable pressesffand the assembly-may-ithus be manu-f-f-'fc factured v'quite economically ini comparison-- with an assembly of cast members each of which in general must be machined. The assembly as a whole is furthermore quite light in weight compared to an assembly comprising cast metal parts, and the sheet metal arms 39 in particular are very light in Weight compared with cast metal arms used for the same purpose. Lightness is a desirable quality in connection with an amphibian vehicle as has hereinbefore been explained. The bogie wheel suspension construction may be easily assembled so as to put the rubber torsion member 29 in compressed condition, as has been described. The construction for iixing the intermediate cylinder 28 and the outer cylinder 32 against relative rotation and including the key 36 extending into a split in the cylinder 28 is furthermore an effective and simple construction for accomplishing this purpose.

I wish it to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, except only insofar as the claims may be so limited, as it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made without departing from the principles of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, a body to be supported, a support for said body, a torsion joint comprising two members resiliently joined together for relative movement, one of said members being connected with said support and the other of said two members being i'lxed with respect to said body, means to secure said other member against rotation relatively to said body, and

means for supporting the torsion joint by the body, said means comprising a pair of bearing members having one of their respective ends passed through portions of said body and detachably secured in one of the two members of said torsion joint, whereby said torsion joint is easily mounted or demounted.

2. In a vehicle, in combination, a vehicle body to be movably supported, a support for said body, said support including a wheel, a torsion joint comprising inner and outer cylindrical members radially spaced apart and adapted to be relatively movable with respect to one another by reason of a resilient member which interconnects them, one of said cylindrical members being connected with said support to support the wheel for rotation and the other cylindrical member beingiixed with respect to said body, means to secure said other member against rotation relatively to said body, and means for supporting the torsion joint by the body, said means com prising a pair of bolt-like members having one of their respective ends passed through portions of said body and detachably secured in one of said two cylindrical members, whereby said torsion joint is easily mounted or demounted.

3. In a vehicle, in combination, a vehicle body which comprisess-= cylinderedisposerlsaboitfand spaced from the' supportrtheliwheeliforfrotation, said cylinders being resilient1y.-.ioined together-. for relative movement, end Amembers'securedinthe open ends of ,the xlinneraof "s1aid,er:ylinclersi', and f'zmeans for means comprising.,annarmfnnceach,.endmember adjustably securedatts" "end to" said' body and a boltlikezsmember axially mounted in eachtfiend of said` innerfcylinder,rotatablysecuring eachfof said end members to a portion of said body.

4. In a vehicle, in combination, a vehicle-body to be movably supported and having a plurality of opposed wall sections, a support for said body, said support including a wheel, a torsion joint which comprises an inner cylinder xed with respect to the body and having end members secured in its open ends, an intermediate cylinder disposed about and spaced from said inner cylinder and having at least one longitudinal split therein, a torsion member of yielding material disposed between and fixed to said cylinders, an outer cylinder having a single longitudinal split permitting it to be iitted over said intermediate cylinder, iianges along the split edges of said outer cylinder, a key disposed between said flanges and extending into the split in said intermediate cylinder for xing the outer and intermediate cylinders against relative rotation, a plurality of bolts extending through the iianges and said key for holding in contracted condition the outer cylinder, said outer cylinder being connected with said support, and means for supporting the torsion joint by said body, said means comprising an arm on each end member adjustably secured at its end to said body against rotation of said inner member relative to said body and a pair of bolts each of which bolts is having one end journaled in a wall section of said body and the other end detachably secured in an end member of said inner cylinder, whereby said torsion joint is easily mounted or demounted.

5. In a vehicle, in combination, a vehicle body to be movably supported and having a plurality of opposed wall sections, a support for said body, said support including a wheel, a torsion joint which comprises an inner cylinder fixed with respect to the body and having end members secured in its open ends, said end members each having an arm adjustably secured at its end to said body against rotation of said end member with respect to said body, an intermediate cyl inder disposed about and spaced from said inner cylinder and having two longitudinal splits therein, a torsion member of yielding material disposed between and xed to said cylinders, an outer cylinder having a single longitudinal split permitting it to be tted over said intermediate cylinder, a spacer adapted to be disposed in one of the splits in said intermediate cylinder, ilanges along the split edges of said outer cylinder, a key disposed between said flanges and extending into the other of said two splits in said intermediate cylinder for fixing the outer and intermediate cylinders against relative rotation, a plurality oi bolts extending through the iianges and said key for holding in contracted condition the outer cylinder, said outer cylinder being connected with said support, and means for supporting the torsion joint by said body, said means comprising a pair of bolts each of which bolts Rinne cylinder; an i outer -A-f inner cylinder and connected with said support to1' REFERENCES CITED The following references are: of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Number Ollivier Oct. 11, 1921 Number Number Name Date Broadwell Apr. 30, 1929 Christie Dec. 15, 1931 Burns Mar. 5, 1935 Knox Mar. 7, 1939 Herrington June 13, 1939 Krotz Feb. 20 1940 Krotz Dec. 24, 1940 Ledwinka June 16, 1942 Krotz Mar. 28, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS I Country Date France Nov. 7, 1936 

